Ocean's Now Suffering from Carbon Dioxide As Well as the Atmosphere

At a minimum, this is not good news for fish lovers. Those who think the ocean is important to keep our environment in harmony might also be concerned.....


NAIROBI, Kenya - The world's oceans are becoming more acidic, which poses a threat to sea life and Earth's fragile food chain, a climate expert said Thursday.

Oceans have already absorbed a third of the world's emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming, leading to acidification that prevents vital sea life from forming properly.

"The oceans are rapidly changing," said professor Stefan Rahmstorf on the sidelines of a U.N. conference on climate change that has drawn delegates from more than 100 countries to Kenya. "Ocean acidification is a major threat to marine organisms."

Fish stocks and the world's coral reefs could also be hit while acidification risks "fundamentally altering" the food chain, he said.

In a study titled "The Future Oceans — Warming Up, Rising High, Turning Sour," Rahmstorf and eight other scientists warned that the world is witnessing, on a global scale, problems similar to the acid rain phenomenon of the 1970s and 1980s.

Rahmstorf, the head of Germany's Potsdam Institute for Research into Climatic Effects, says more research is urgently needed to assess the impact of ocean acidification.

David Santillo, a senior scientist at Greenpeace's Research Laboratories in Exeter, Britain, said it had come as a shock to scientists that the oceans are turning acidic because of carbon dioxide emissions.
"The knock on effect for humans is that some of these marine resources that we rely on may not be available in the future," the marine biologist, who was not involved in Rahmstorf's study, told The Associated Press by telephone.

Democrat's New Hero is Pro-War...Or, The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

JOHN WALSH, COUNTERPUNCH - I wrote that the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, had worked hard to guarantee that Democratic candidates in key toss-up House races were pro-war. In this he was largely successful, because of the money he commands and the celebrity politicians who reliably respond to his call, ensuring that 20 of the 22 Democratic candidates in these districts are pro-war. . .

When Jack Murtha made his proposal for withdrawal from Iraq, Emanuel quickly declared that "Jack Murtha went out and spoke for Jack Murtha." As for Iraq policy, Emanuel added: "At the right time, we will have a position." That was November, 2005. In June, 2006, it was obviously time, and Emanuel finally revealed his policy in a statement on the floor of the House during debate over Iraq, thus: "The debate today is about whether the American people want to stay the course with an administration and a Congress that has walked away from its obligations or pursue a real strategy for success in the war on terror. We cannot achieve the end of victory and continue to sit and watch, stand pat, stay put, status quo and that is the Republican policy. Democrats are determined to take the fight to the enemy." The refrain is familiar; more troops are the means and victory in Iraq is the goal. . .

Advice for Pelosi and company

This sage guidance comes from Sam Smith at the Progressive Review.....


THE DEMOCRATS did as well as they did because of the obvious failings of George Bush. Stunningly absent from the campaign was any sense of what the Democrats stood for, what they were going to do, and why the voter should follow them. This is not a good way to start a new movement.

Watching Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emmanuel and Barack Obama it seemed like I was listening to John Kerry without the preppy mannerisms. Yes, they had memorized their lines, but they lacked soul and passion and were so mechanistic in their approach that the only emotion that seemed to surface was the fear they tried to hide behind their timid words.

The secret of Democratic success lies in programs that help large number of Americans live better and helps them deal with the problems that both parties have laid upon them over the past quarter century including the enormous costs of globalization, reckless use of the environment, military adventurism and greedster capitalism.

If there is a Democratic Party that can remake itself it's not the one of the Washington robo-Dems, hostage as they are to alien campaign contributors, nefarious lobbyists and the like. The party doesn't need leaders who act like they care; they need leaders who really do.

Secretary Rumsfeld Stepping Down

Poor Bush....I guess you go into the midterms with the Secretary of Defense you have and not the one you want! Hahahahahaahahahahahaa. Hopefully, he may still be prosecuted for war crimes by some more civilized country. Ironic if it would be Germany (see link).

Some Hope for America!!

Well, hopefully this will be enough to slow Bush down to a crawl for the rest of his term. Hopefully, the Democrats won't totally wuss out on this opportunity to grow a spine and will start reversing some of the crazy shit Bush has foisted on us the past 6 years. What a nightmare!
If only they would start impeachment proceedings against BOTH Bush and Cheney! Then maybe we could start regaining some respect among other civilized nations. I understand Conyers has already written the impeachment playbook. Now they just need to open it up instead of using it as a doorstop.

Remember Habeas Corpus on Election Day

I borrowed this line from Get Your War On....


"Too bad the writ of habeas corpus wasn't written in 1990! Because then it would be sixteen years old, and the people would be scandalized when the politicians started fucking with it."

The Simpsons Get it Right......Be Sure to Vote Tomorrow!

Check this hilarious video from YouTube that shows exactly why these psychopaths need to be slowed down on election day tomorrow by at least prying the House of Representatives out of their sleazy paws!

Cut and paste the link below or click on the link above.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6skfbT42lU